My boys spent much of the day reading and playing, and have finally succumbed to the lure of the computer. My husband took the day off from work and is sitting across from me, half-asleep on the back porch swing, the late summer breeze lulling him. Our two dogs, Tam and Jimmy, are hiding in the cool shade beneath the porch. Every once in a while they shift and I can here the rustle of dead leaves. I'm happily tired, sipping a creamy cup of coffee and covered in flour. Good times. I spent the morning baking. A plum pie sits cooling on the rack in the kitchen. It's an experiment: there are still ten pounds of last summer's plums in the freezer, and I need to make room for…

We are a predominantly whole foods, plant-based household. I make a mean cashew sour cream you couldn't tell from the real deal. We sub lentils for ground beef and no one bats an eye. As my husband is fond of saying, we eat like kings. However, for birthdays and special events we go all out and make the real deal. The two special meals most requested in our house are Macaroni and Cheese and Fettuccine Alfredo. Tonight we are celebrating L's 14th birthday. At his request, we are having Fettuccine Alfredo. Fettuccine Alfredo Creamy, rich, delectable. Hands down the best alfredo sauce I've ever made. 1/2 cup butter2 Tbsp cream cheese1 pint heavy cream1 tsp garlic powder2/3 cup parmesan cheese (grated)1 pound fettuccine (prepared according to box)salt (to taste)pepper (to…

Pizza is a frequently requested meal in our household. When we lived in Belgium, we ordered weekly from Pizza La Regina, a little hole-in-the-wall joint minutes from our house. Belgium has a huge Italian population, and this restaurant was run by an Italian family. They knew pizza! After moving back to the states, we shopped around a lot, trying to find a suitable substitute. We settled on Papa Murphy's, a chain that prepares the pizza for you to take home and bake. Not quite as good as Pizza La Regina, but far better than the other options we found locally. Since moving to Washington, however, we've been on a quest to spend less and make more. Dropping thirty plus bucks weekly on pizza just doesn't fit in our pared-down budget.…

They are the largest trees ever. They don't get moisture from their roots, they get it from their leaves (their needles). They grow in the north and used to be on every continent. Dinosaurs used to eat them and pterosaurs built nests in them. They are the best smelling trees of all time. The largest type of pine is a redwood. The largest pine ever was a redwood in a coastal forest in California. Its name was the Crannell Creek Giant. Its total volume was over 60,000 cubic feet. It was 308 feet tall. It was cut down in the 1940s. Rest in peace, Crannell Creek Giant. Rest in Peace

An original story based on a Bravewriter freewrite prompt. This story was featured on the Bravewriter website! Food Fight by L. Ohlsson The torches dimmed as the vikings left the grand hall, leaving half eaten food on the table. As the doors closed, the food stood up. They organized themselves into groups such as these: The Tomato Republic, allied with the United States of Bread and the Cheese Nation. On the other side, there was Red Meat allied with White Meat and Seasoning. On the third side of the battle, the Forests of Broccoli and the mazes of corn stood together, along with the Vegetable Empire. And so the battle commenced! The cheese battled the white meat by shooting strings of cheesy webbing, but white meat flew away, too…

Hi, my name's Karena and I'd like to welcome you to Ohlssons.us! This is a family blog that reflects our individual interests. I'll supply you with plenty of posts on homeschooling, plant-based eating, and ideas for living the frugal life and getting (and remaining) debt-free. I'll also no doubt bore you with cute stories about my kids and dogs. Jesse will stop by on occasion to regale readers with the trials and tribulations, and hopefully success stories about leaping off the cliff and starting your own business. And perhaps to point out how ludicrously wrong someone is on the internet. Our boys, L and H, won't be left out. They will be making regular appearances to wax poetic about their own passions. L is a Dungeons & Dragons aficionado and a…